An American Philanthropist in Victoria....Some Musings

A Discovery about the Past

On my way to a recent dental appointment, I noticed a plaque on a building I have never looked at closely before:

I knew Andrew Carnegie was an American philanthropist - but what was he doing gifting a building in Victoria, in 1904?

Curious, I found a plaque around the corner, which informed me that the building was, at one time, a Carnegie Library:

The building is no longer a library, but was sold to a credit union when the central library branch moved to its Broughton Street location in 1980. As the plaque shows, the credit union did a restoration and received an award from Heritage Canada. The building is currently empty, as Westcoast Savings has gone through changes itself. 

It was hard to capture the whole building, located at the corner of Yates and Blanshard, but here is a snippet of the style:

The building is now for lease

Some of the ornate detail

Carnegie Library, Victoria, circa 1910. Source: https://archives.victoria.ca/carnegie-library-yates-street

The Carnegie Library building as it looked in 2019. Source: http://www.victoriaonlinesightseeing.com/794-yates-street-carnegie-library-victoria-british-columbia/

After my dentist's appointment, I went online to learn a little more about Carnegie. One thing led to another, then to another... this post is the result. It's quite long, so I've broken it up with sub-headings.

The Responsibility of Wealth

Carnegie's story is the American dream, a "rags to riches" tale of a self-made man. Born in Scotland in 1835, he started life with little, according to biography.com. His family, however, valued books and learning; he was 13 when they emigrated to the United States. There, he started working, first in a factory, then as a telegraph messenger, then as a telegraph operator. When he was 18 he moved to a job with the Pennsylvania Railroad, and gradually worked his way into more senior positions, all the while, shrewdly investing money in high return areas, particularly oil. Eventually he went on to found the Carnegie Steel Company, and became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century.

Andrew Carnegie. Source of photo: https://www.biography.com/business-figure/andrew-carnegie

And then, he gave it all away. He is quoted as saying, "The man who dies rich, dies in disgrace".  He put this into practice by the multiple legacies he left - not only within the United States, but in many other countries of the world, including Canada.

When he turned 65, Carnegie sold his business, and started his legacy of giving. Carnegie's 1889 article Wealth outlined his view that "those with great wealth must be socially responsible and use their assets to help others". [Quoted on biography.com] His gifts included Carnegie Hall, an endowment for international peace, an institute for science, endowments for universities, and hundreds of public libraries.

Over 2,800 public libraries were built with his support, including 125 in Canada. A free public library was a revolutionary concept in the late 1800's / early 1900's. Carnegie's model paid for the construction of libraries, but there needed to be local commitment to maintain them.

A Child in a Library

Although I did not know it at the time, I grew up enjoying Carnegie's legacy. From about the age of 10 I was allowed to ride the bus to downtown Calgary, where I would transport myself to other worlds amongst the book stacks of the Memorial Park library - a gift of Andrew Carnegie. Then, when I had the biggest pile of books my arms could manage, I made my way home, again by bus, mesmerized by the stories within them.

Calgary's Memorial Park Library, funded by Andrew Carnegie, and Alberta's first library. Photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmhpictures/19233469589

Of course, as with most things, Carnegie's offer to fund libraries in Canada was not universally welcomed. There was controversy. Some thought he had an ulterior motive to providing free access to books and learning - such as building a legacy to his name. Others were offended by comments he had made about Canada in the past. Some were opposed to the offer because of past business practices which were anti-labour. And, some were opposed to the concept of free libraries, or thought that municipalities could not afford the expense of running the library.

But despite these various roadblocks, many were built in Canada, especially in Ontario. Victoria's library was one of three in British Columbia (the other two were Vancouver and New Westminster).

A Library Champion

Calgary's library, which I enjoyed so much as a child, was the result of the efforts of a group of strong women, members of the Calgary Women's Literary Club - some of the unsung heroes of our culture. Their founder, Annie Davidson, personally wrote Carnegie and secured his pledge for $80,000 (a huge sum at the time) for a library. Carnegie, however, also said there must be local commitment.

Because in 1906 women did not have the right to vote, Calgary's all-male Council told Davidson they would only lend their support for the library if she submitted a petition signed by 10% of Calgary's men. So the group went door-knocking; apparently it took two tries, but they did eventually secure enough signatures, and by 1912 the library was built.

Annie Davidson, one of the forces who helped create Calgary's first public library. Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-public-library-annie-davidson-women-literary-club-1.4839371

Calgary's Memorial Park Library is now officially a National Historic Site, and still continues to play a cultural and educational role in Calgary, home to a music lending library, the offices of a writers' festival, and more.

Philanthropy Today

I felt inspired after reading about Carnegie. If there were philanthropic public-minded people like him in the past, then there still are people like him on the planet today. 

Income Inequality

Times have changed since Carnegie lived; there is now greater wealth inequality, rather than less. In fact, a 2019 report, based on American census data, concluded that income inequality in the United States was the highest since the Census Bureau started tracking it. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/09/26/income-inequality-america-highest-its-been-since-census-started-tracking-it-data-show/)

According to the Conference Board of Canada, Canada's income inequality has also increased over the past two decades (https://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/Details/society/income-inequality.aspx).

A 2013 assessment by the Board gave Canada a rating of "C".

Income inequality is measured using the "gini" coefficient. The closer the number is to 0, the more perfectly equal is a society, where everyone has the same income. A coefficient of 1 would represent the opposite - complete inequality, . Source: Conference Board of Canada (https://www.conferenceboard.ca/Files/hcp/society/soc_IncIneq_ch1-2012.png)

Globally, income inequality is huge. Less than 1% of the planet's population controls almost 45% of its wealth. And, less than 10% of the planet's population controls 84% of its total wealth. (Source: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/22/18192774/oxfam-inequality-report-2019-davos-wealth)

The Giving Pledge

There is some good news in this rather bleak picture.  I have been learning of the Giving Pledge - a campaign by the world's wealthiest people to pledge to give away the majority of their wealth - in the tradition of Carnegie. As of 2020, 220 people had made this pledge, including Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett, the founders of the Giving Pledge. (https://givingpledge.org/Home.aspx)

It's been said that Bill Gates would like to be seen as the Andrew Carnegie of today.

At least one Canadian is on the Giving Pledge list: John McCall MacBain (founder of Trader Classified Media) and his wife Marcy. In 2019 their foundation, the McCall MacBain Foundation, provided McGill University with the largest single donation ever given to a Canadian University.

Canadian Philanthropists?

Are there other Canadians who are contributing, like Carnegie did for the US, to the fabric of our society? Here are several mentioned in a Globe and Mail article from earlier this decade: (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/giving/five-key-players-in-canadian-philanthropy/article640159/)

• Seymour Schulich - a businessman in finance  and mining: university endowments across the country
• Belinda Stronach - businesswoman (Magna International): established a foundation to provide tools for girls, aboriginal youth, and to fight malaria
• Mike Lazaridis - businessman (Blackberry): university endowments for technological research
• Randy Moffat - businessman (Broadcasting): major donation to the Winnipeg Community Foundation which makes ongoing grants to organizations in the Winnipeg area
• Sophie Desmarais - widow of Paul Desmarais, financier; she died in 2018: major patron of the arts, especially music and opera

I also think of Jack Rabinovitch, who founded the Giller Prize to honour his late wife Doris Giller, or of Max Bell, who just before his death provided the funds for the Max Bell Foundation which has provided support for medical research, education and sport.

And I think of the model of community foundations, which are an effective way that individuals can give locally, and generate social capital for their communities.

Trends in Individual Charitable Donation

Most Canadian non profit organizations rely at least in part upon the philanthropic impulses of individuals.

However, fewer people are making charitable donations than in the past, and this is creating a sustainability challenge. I found an in depth review at https://www.cagp-acpdp.org/sites/default/files/media/rideau_hall_foundation_30years_report_eng_fnl.pdf

The graph below shows the significant drop over 30 years of taxfilers claiming charitable donations, in every income group. Charities are relying on an ever-decreasing pool of donors.

Source: 30 Years of Giving in Canada - The Giving Behaviour of Canadians - Who gives, how and why? Rideau Hall Foundation and Imagine Canada, 2018.

The value of average charitable donation has also decreased, in every income group.

Source: 30 Years of Giving in Canada - The Giving Behaviour of Canadians - Who gives, how and why? Rideau Hall Foundation and Imagine Canada, 2018

So - Canadians are giving less, at least according to charitable tax donations claimed. Non profit organizations rely instead on government for most of their revenue.

Government Support of Charities

A sobering report by Canada Helps points out that the majority of government support goes to the largest non-profit organizations. Incredibly, 85% of all government funding for charities goes to the 1% of charities that reported over 200 employees. This leaves a huge funding challenge for the 99% of other charities. (Source: The Giving Report, 2018, by CanadaHelps.org)

The Canada Helps report compares the state of non-profits with the situation faced by business: small businesses are significant job creators, as are small non-profit organizations. It is these many, diverse small non-profits which contribute to the quality and richness of our society.

Donations by the Wealthy

The Canada Helps report reaches the same conclusion as the "30 years of Giving report": wealthy people are giving less, not more.

And, it also shows that donations are down in every age category.

Comparison of changes between 2006 and 2014 by Canada Helps. The biggest drops in giving were by the highest income earning groups.

Comparison of changes between 2006 and 2014 by Canada Helps. Every age group was giving less in 2014 then 2006.

Finally, the report showed that the organizations which received the least in online donations were arts and culture, environmental, and indigenous organizations.

Analysis of types of organizations that donors support, Canada Helps report.  

Donating Time: Volunteering

In addition to giving less, people are not volunteering as much as they used to. A 2018 Conference Board of Canada study showed a drop of over 7% in the average annual volunteer hours per person that between 2004 and 2017, and a drop in the proportion of Canadians who volunteered, from 45.2 % to 43.6%. (Source: Value of Volunteering in Canada, Conference Board of Canada, 2018)

A Sustainability Crisis?

Are non profit organizations facing a sustainability crisis? We depend on these groups for our civil society. Without more Carnegies, where will we be?

So my curiosity about Andrew Carnegie sparked a small investigation into the state of Canadian philanthropy. It has raised some deeper questions for me.

Non-profit societies are essential to our civil society. Some of them do work that historically used to be carried out by government - health, education, and social services, for example.

Non-profit groups enrich our lives, in all areas, from education to arts to social justice to environmental protection. Yet, the models by which they sustain themselves may no longer be effective.

Here are a few questions that came up for me as I think about non-profits:

• Non-Profits without Charitable Tax Status. How can we better support groups that are not eligible for charitable tax status - because they are small, or engaged in too much advocacy?
• Can we do better?  The toonie we drop into a jar at the cash register, the food we give to the food bank, the tent we offer to a homeless person... Are there ways we can strengthen our giving? 
• Fighting for our donations? Does the sustainability crisis mean pitting worthy non profits against each other? Are we putting charities into the position of having to market themselves, sell their stories, pester us constantly, emphasize the "Donate" button on their websites?
• Online Fundraising. Is online fundraising like "Go Fund Me" syphoning donations away from traditional non-profits? Apparently there was so much donated after the tragic Humboldt Broncos crash that a society had to be created to manage the funds, and anecdotally, Go Fund Me collected about $500,000 from the effort. 
• Results-oriented. I, like others, want to know the impact of my donation. What are the measurables, the difference being made? 
• American Foundations and Canadian Non-Profits. Is it okay for Canadian groups to receive funding from American foundations? A century ago, 125 libraries were quite happy to receive gifts from the US. But now, we have the Alberta government setting up a "war room" to investigate US funds flowing to environmental groups. 
• The Giving Pledge. What can we do to thank, to support and encourage more wealthy people to sign onto the Giving Pledge?
• Community Foundations. Is the rise of local foundations helping the sustainability of small community non-profits? 

My delving into the state of non-profits has made me much more aware of the challenging financial situation many face.

I will close with a quote from Max Bell, described as an "astute and far-sighted son of the Canadian West" (https://maxbell.org/about-us/history/), who talks - as Carnegie did - about the responsibility that goes with wealth:

"The only time money is important is when you haven’t any. Once you have it, however, you must accept the responsibility to make the best use of it and to ensure that those who become dependent on you for a livelihood are not injured by your transactions.” Quoted on https://maxbell.org/about-us/history/